Daily Archives

So now I have a reading bed pillow that has helped reduce my back and neck pains when I indulge in my favorite pastime namely, reading. However, holding a book, even if it’s just a paperback, can be taxing on the nerves in my hand.

I would often turn this way and that just to relieve the strain on one side, but unless someone discovers a way to do ‘aerobic reading’, where the muscles on both arms remain evenly sized, I am afraid the muscles on my dominant side (the right side of my body) would become flabby but flat because of how I lay reading on that side more frequently.

Then I discovered an easier way to enjoy my favorite novels including Catcher in the Rye, Pride and Prejudice, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I found an ebook reader on Amazon!

Yes, an ebook reader! (Yay or Nay?)

My ebook reader, or simply an e-reader, could easily turn into my best buddy. It is able to hold hundreds of electronic books in a single small, thin, and lightweight package. Generally cheaper than its paper counterparts, my e-reader allows me to carry my entire book collection in my pocket while still opening enough space for an entire library of newly-released titles. Neat huh?

I have yet to see the day when printed books can beat that. What is even grander is how an ebook reader makes new titles immediately available for download on the very day of publication, and often before they even hit the shelves anywhere else in the world. It is as simple as finding an ebook, downloading it, and then enjoying the work within minutes with just a few clicks.

The download fees are much cheaper than what I would pay for the paperback equivalent. This has been what has converted me from being an ebook reader skeptic to a genuine e-reader believer. I might not enjoy the real feel of an actual book, but it is the written word that I am after in the first place.

Plenty of online bookstores abound, and I can even borrow titles from a local e-library using an exclusive app called Overdrive. My e-reader runs on a wireless network, in some cases a 3G network, for downloading ebooks.

The growth in the popularity of ebooks has led to the competition from the ebook software in tablets though, but my e-reader is not something I would trade for that system now and in the near feature. That is unless tablet ebook software would become a mind reader that knows instinctively when it’s time to turn the page so I would not have to do it myself.

My ebook reader comes with a modest 5-inch screen, which makes it superbly portable yet ample for displaying a digitized version of a printed book. The device is superbly light at just 8 ounces aside from being as thin as my own smartphone. I got it on Amazon for less than $100, and it was a steal because it was on sale then. Yes, Amazon is simply amazing!

What is even more awesome is the e-reader features a built-in music player although it is primarily designed for reading. Since I wanted tactile control, my e-reader has bars and buttons that I use to choose content or turn pages. Some models work via onscreen swipe. My e-reader allows me to purchase single issues or even subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. Overall verdict? Yay, of course!